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The required precision to perform quantum simulations beyond the capabilities of classical computers imposes major experimental and theoretical challenges. The key to solving these issues are highly precise ways of characterizing analog quantum sim ulators. Here, we robustly estimate the free Hamiltonian parameters of bosonic excitations in a superconducting-qubit analog quantum simulator from measured time-series of single-mode canonical coordinates. We achieve the required levels of precision in estimating the Hamiltonian parameters by maximally exploiting the model structure, making it robust against noise and state-preparation and measurement (SPAM) errors. Importantly, we are also able to obtain tomographic information about those SPAM errors from the same data, crucial for the experimental applicability of Hamiltonian learning in dynamical quantum-quench experiments. Our learning algorithm is highly scalable both in terms of the required amounts of data and post-processing. To achieve this, we develop a new super-resolution technique coined tensorESPRIT for frequency extraction from matrix time-series. The algorithm then combines tensorESPRIT with constrained manifold optimization for the eigenspace reconstruction with pre-and post-processing stages. For up to 14 coupled superconducting qubits on two Sycamore processors, we identify the Hamiltonian parameters — verifying the implementation on one of them up to sub-MHz precision — and construct a spatial implementation error map for a grid of 27 qubits. Our results constitute a fully characterized, highly accurate implementation of an analog dynamical quantum simulation and introduce a diagnostic toolkit for understanding, calibrating, and improving analog quantum processors.

Submitted 18 Aug 2021 to Quantum Physics [quant-ph]

Subjects: quant-ph cond-mat.quant-gas physics.comp-ph.

One year after initial deliveries of solid-state battery prototypes to its automotive partners, QuantumScape is receiving additional praise from PowerCo – the battery-centric subsidiary of Volkswagen Group – for the potential of its technology. PowerCo recently completed an endurance test with QuantumScape’s solid-state cells and determined they can someday power EVs that can drive 500,000 kilometers with virtually no loss of range.

QuantumScape ($QS) is an advanced battery technology company that has been working for over a decade to develop scalable, energy-dense solid-state battery cells that can one-day power EVs that are safer, charge faster, and drive farther.

During QuantumScape’s tenure in solid-state battery development, Volkswagen Group has been a partner from early on and remains one of the startup’s largest investors. OEMs like Volkswagen have helped empower QuantumScape to continue its development and deliver some of the most promising solid-state battery technology in the industry.

Kepler asserts that its general-purpose Forerunner series showcases advanced capabilities in body movements, precise hand control, and sophisticated visual perception. This positions it as a formidable competitor to Tesla’s Optimus in the realm of humanoid robotics.

The firm claims that its humanoid robot aims to enhance “productivity with cutting-edge technology, hastening the arrival of a ‘three-day work week.’ The shift will enable humans to dedicate more time to meaningful endeavors, such as space exploration,” said Debo Hu, co-founder of the firm, in a statement.

How deeply someone can be hypnotized — known as hypnotizability — appears to be a stable trait that changes little throughout adulthood, much like personality and IQ. But now, for the first time, Stanford Medicine researchers have demonstrated a way to temporarily heighten hypnotizablity — potentially allowing more people to access the benefits of hypnosis-based therapy.

In the new study, published Jan. 4 in Nature Mental Health, the researchers found that less than two minutes of electrical stimulation targeting a precise area of the brain could boost participants’ hypnotizability for about one hour.

“We know hypnosis is an effective treatment for many different symptoms and disorders, in particular pain,” said Afik Faerman, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in psychiatry and lead author of the study. “But we also know that not everyone benefits equally from hypnosis.”

From surveillance to defense to AI/ML virtualization, and it’s more compact and energy efficient. Oh and let’s not forget the medical imaging applications. I just wonder how long until it’s put into effect.


A front-end lens, or meta-imager, created at Vanderbilt University can potentially replace traditional imaging optics in machine-vision applications, producing images at higher speed and using less power.

The nanostructuring of lens material into a meta-imager filter reduces the typically thick optical lens and enables front-end processing that encodes information more efficiently. The imagers are designed to work in concert with a digital backend to offload computationally expensive operations into high-speed and low-power optics. The images that are produced have potentially wide applications in , , and government and defense industries.

Mechanical engineering professor Jason Valentine, deputy director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and colleagues’ proof-of-concept meta-imager is described in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology.